Oh, Christmas tree

Trees are taking centre stage over at Daring Cardmakers this week - Christmas trees, bare branched wintery trees, festive or not, just show us a tree or two.

It’s a double dose of trees from me! I used the technique of inking up and stamping onto an embossing folder before running it through the Big Shot to get the impression of fir trees behind the birch trunks. Adding a torn strip of paper inside the folder stops ink going onto to the lower portion of the cardstock and  gets you an easy horizon line. I then decided to step it up a notch and add colour to the embossed trunks with a teeny tiny paint brush and some inks - darker brown for the markings on the bark and a very light beige to add some shading down one side of each trunk.

I didn’t want to cover anything up really so I added a sentiment on a vellum strip so the scene is still visible behind it. The strip is stuck on with double sided tape sheet - covering the whole strip is a good solution to the age old problem of how to attach vellum without the adhesive showing! Gel pen lines give the strip a slightly more finished look.

Stamps:
Lovely as a Tree (Stampin Up!)
Sentiment from Noel (Waltzingmouse Stamps, now available from Gina K)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Vellum

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Pine Needles, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen)
Versamark by Tsukineko 

Other:
Detail gold embossing powder 
Woodland embossing folder (Stampin Up!)
Gold gel pen
Double sided tape sheet
Corner Chomper 

Here's this week's cover sheet if you'd like to share it

 

Thanks for stopping by!

December's elements

It’s the first Friday of the month and over at Daring Cardmakers that can only mean one thing - it’s an elemental challenge! Just use at least three elements from the inspiration picture to kickstart your card.

I chose reindeer, narrow stripes, tag, twine, typewriter style font (it even has the word joy in there), snowflakes and the colour scheme.

The narrow stripes are stamped through a circular aperture, I used a snippet of wrapping paper to cover the bottom of the card and the reindeer is die cut from packaging from a well known online retailer! I added just a bit of Vintage Photo ink round the edges of the die cut - I think it helps bring it to life a bit.

Stamps:
Fine lines backgrounder (CHF, no longer with us)
Sentiment from Merriest Christmas Wishes (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board
Packaging board envelope
Gift wrap paper

Ink:
Distress ink by Ranger (Fired Brick, Vintage Photo)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Tags dies (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
White crochet thread
Reindeer Family dies (Paper Rose)
Corner Chomper

Here's our inspiration picture this month, we'd love to have you along if you still have Christmas cards to make!

Thanks for stopping by!

Classic (retro) Christmas

The lovely folk at Retro Rubber invited me back as guest designer this week. The challenge is red, green and white on a Christmas card and, as ever, stamps that are at least a year old.

I revisited an old Crafty Secrets set that I’ve had since 2011. I stamped the light bulb in red and green Distress inks, hand drew the string to link them then used the same inks to colour them and add a very dilute wash of colour around each bulb for the “glow” of the lights. I used a silver gel pen to add metallic detail at the top of each bulb.  The pine  branches add an extra shade of green.

The sentiment is retro too - even though this set is now available from Gina K, mine is the original Waltzingmouse Stamps set from 2014.

Stamps:
Christmas Joy (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Noel sentiment set (Waltzingmouse Stamps, now available from Gina K)

Paper:
Watercolour

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress inks by Ranger (Mowed Lawn, Barn Door, Pine Needles)

Other:
Fineline marker
Silver gel pen 
Corner Chomper 

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain - November

It's reveal day for the final Card Chain Challenge of 2019. My card has gone across the Pond to Jeanne in Minnesota this time and I received a lovely card from Arlene.

From the options on offer I chose the colour scheme of silver, pine and ice blue and the theme of trees. The silver needs the right angle but it really is there, honest!

I used oldie but goodie Lovely As a Tree (a shock retirement from the Stampin' Up catalogue this year) and a sentiment from Hero Arts combined with some Distress inks used as watercolours and a silver gel pen for a simple, unembellished card that's easy to airmail.

Stamps:
Lovely As a Tree (Stampin' Up!)
Truly Appreciated (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Watercolour
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Pine Needles)
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)

Other:
A6 Stitched Rectangle dies (Paper Rose)
Silver gel pen

Big thank you to the Card Chain Challenge team for organising the challenges, it’s a lovely thing to take part in with the treat of receiving a hand made card each month. Maybe you’ll join us in 2020? Look out for January’s chain!

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain - October

I missed reveal day over at the Card Chain Challenge yesterday. My card has travelled all the way to Dawn in New Zealand this month.

As ever, we had lots of options - I chose the theme of leaves, (sort of) the colour palette of tangerine, cherry and gold and the product option of die cuts.

I had a piece of inky mixed media paper in my stack of scraps that was good colours for autumn leaves and close to the suggested colour palette so I went with that - hopefully Dawn will forgive the northern hemisphere slant on this! The leaves are die cut from the paper, the circle is sponged with gold ink and overstamped in a slightly hit-and-miss style with a script stamp. There's a tiny bit of pale stencilling for some background interest and a scored line under the sentiment (the American spelling is another thing for Dawn to forgive!).

Stamps:
19th Century French Script and Essential Messages (both Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board
Bamboo mixed media by Hannemuhl (inked with long forgotten Distress ink colours)

Ink:
Delicata by Tsukineko (Golden Glitz)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Coffee Bean)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Leaves dies by Impression Obsession
Cressida stencil by Memory Box
Home made circle stencil
Scor-it
Corner Chomper

There are still a couple of days to sign up for the November chain (which is the last one of 2019) if you fancy making and sending one card and getting one lovely handmade card from the next link in the chain.

Link in the chain - September

It's reveal day at Card Chain Challenge - my card has gone to Greta in Oregon this month. I often go with a one layer card if I'm airmailing it but somehow my brain didn't want to go that way this time!

As usual, we had lots of choice - I went with the sketch and the theme of "things with wheels".

Things are starting to feel pretty autumnal so I thought I'd pull out an old set and haul some giant pumpkins! The truck and pumpkins are separate images, I cut a slit along the line of the truckbed with a scalpel and tucked the pumpkins inside.

The green is part of a gel print that was out on my desk, the swirly sky is inked over a stencil and I hand drew the birds and grass tuft to fit the sketch. I did struggle a bit to get the word die to cut right through where the truck is stuck on to the background but got there in the end - I thought an eclipse sentiment would suit this!

Stamps:
Happy Harvest (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Premium weight copy paper

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Stitched frame dies (Paper Rose)
Copic markers
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)
Phrases Set 2 dies (Spellbinder)
Fineliner
Momento marker (Bamboo Leaves)

Thanks for stopping by! There's still time to sign up for the October chain if you fancy it - make and mail one card, get a hand crafted card from somebody else!

On Safari

Shabneez is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and as it's World Tourism Day she'd like to see something from another country or culture featuring on our cards. Hop over to see where the DT members have travelled to this week!

I decided to go on safari - camera only, no guns! I've never understood the complusion to chase wild animals and kill them, tracking them down and taking pictures is much easier to understand!

As my zebra pair dates from 2009 and Retro Rubber has an "anything goes" challenge at the moment I'm linking up there as well.

I die cut a circle in scrap paper and placed it on the card (I find alignment easiest if I place the solid circle exactly where I want it and then pop the "frame" back round it). Stamped the image, masked it and inked the background before taking the masks away and adding just a touch of shading with a couple of grey Copics and stamping the stentiment.

Stamps:
Zebra Pair (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukinko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door)

Other:
Copic markers (Cool Grey 1 and 3)
Nestabilies circle dies to cut an aperture for masking.

Here's this week's cover sheet to share if you'd like it!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

I've got your number!

Ruth has set the challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to see numbers on our projects as her son celebrates a significant birthday soon!

I wanted to have a go at a reductive painting technique that featured in a recent challenge at Splitcoast Stampers and thought this might be a good opportunity. I used Tim Holtz alphabet masks that I've had forever and a day over a shaving foam background left over from a play with the oxidised shaving foam technique. A layer of black acrylic paint and there you go - a dramatic background!

The quirky Party Puffin is always fun and he's useful for cards where people don't have specific hobbies or anything to theme things around. I gave him a bit of a "halo" with a white pencil to reduce the risk of him disappearing against the background.

Stamps:
Party Puffin (Crafty Individuals)
Sentiment words from Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Shaving foam piece done on preimum weight copy paper

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
White pencil
Stitched rectangles A6 size dies (Paper Rose)
Black acrylic paint
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!

Rosemary is for remembrance

Dawn has set today's challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. Dawn lost her dad recently and so would like to see cards representing special thoughts of someone. It could be a card in memory of someone, or one to let someone know they’re in your thoughts.

I had a plan for this and then found I needed to make a sympathy card for a friend who just lost her mum so my plan changed. Her mum loved her garden and the birds and butterflies that visit so this set seemed perfect.

I started by brushing on a very light coverage of blue ink from bottom left and then stamped the rosemary sprig several times to create the effect of the top of a bush. I used pencils to colour since I feel I have a bit more control in the very narrow spaces of the leaves than I have with Copics - three shades of green, two of purple and white. The tips of the stamens have dots of gold gel pen to finish them off.

Stamps:
Soothing Sympathy (Power Poppy)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Ivy, Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Gold gel pen
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Making a song and dance

As I had this dancing snowman out on my desk it seemed only right that I should join in with the current Lost Coast/Carmen’s Veranda challenge where the theme is “song and dance” and add another Christmas card to my stash.

I thought the Bubble Border would make a fun hillside for him! I heat embossed with white powder and blended a couple of Oxides inks over it then added a wee bit of shading with a couple of Copics and gave a few circles the Wink of Stella treatment for just a touch of festive glitz.

The snowman is stamped on the card base so his little arm waggle lines and scarf fringe are there. I coloured and fussy cut another one and stuck him on with some gel glue so he has a bit of dimension.

Stamps:
Bubble Border (Lost Coast Designs)
Dancing Snowman (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Frosty in the Pines and Compliments of the Season (both Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us - the sentiment set is available from Gina K though)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Cracked Pistachio, Evergreen Bough)

Other:
Bright white detail embossing powder by Wow
Copic markers
Clear Wink of Stella marker
Enamel Accents by Ranger 
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!